GardenBee

I am in Zone 7b in winter. Actually I have tried that for the past few years. I have : 1)left them in the ground, cut them just above the comb and covered with mulch. They rotted to the core and in fact had rotted cavities. 2) I kept them in the ground. They were 2-3 ft tall. Removed their leaves, placed netting and filled it will fallen oak leaves. They still rotted. Did not get a single plant alive. So now in the last two years, I take a few of them to the garage in pots. This year I plan on placing two inside the house, the rest in the crawl space, minus the leaves and hoping I will get some fruit next year. Trial and error for the last 5-6 years now.
Best to you.